Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She made her debut in 2003 appearing in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in 2006 after appearing as Gabriella Montez in the Disney Channel film High School Musical hit series. Hudgens began a music career and released her debut album, V, in 2006. Her sophomore album, Identified, was released July 1, 2008. She is currently a Neutrogena spokesperson, the face of Sears and Ecko footwear.

Early work

Hudgens debuted in Thirteen as Noel and appeared in the 2004 film Thunderbirds as Tintin and appearances include guest roles on Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers García and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (episode title - Forever Plaid), as Corrie. Hudgens also appeared on Drake & Josh, playing Drake's girlfriend, Rebecca.

2005-2006:

High School MusicalHudgens's largest role has been starring in the Disney Channel movie series High School Musical and High School Musical 2, starring as the beautiful, shy, intelligent student Gabriella Montez. She auditioned for Gabriella with the song "Angels" by Robbie Williams. Hudgens and Efron had won "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles. The first High School Musical spawned a hit soundtrack, a worldwide concert tour, a show at Walt Disney World, and even a book series that helped Hudgens land in Forbes magazine's list of top-earning stars under 21." In the list, the 18-year-old Hudgens was No. 7 with estimated earnings of $2 million.

2008-present:
Hudgens launched on July 31, 2008 her first solo tour called "Identified Summer Tour" in order to promote her two albums, performing some of the most popular songs from her debut album and others from her sophomore album. The tour reached Mexico too and she appeared in the Neutrogena Fresh Face Concert on September 7, 2008 at Santa Monica, California Powerhouses with fellow spokesperson, Hayden Pannettiere. As of October 2008, she has officially closed the concert tour.Hudgens reprised her role as Gabriella for the third time in High School Musical 3: Senior Year. She also will appear on the High School Musical 3 soundtrack, performing songs such as "Can I Have This Dance" and "Walk Away".

Also, the song "Can I Have This Dance?" was released as a promotionl single from the soundtrack, with the song being released on iTunes but later removed. She also presented an award in the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards along with the rest of the HSM cast. Hudgens and the cast of HSM 3 launched a European promotional tour to promote the movie. Vanessa made only $2 million for the film, reportedly due to the photo scandal that hurt her image. She is currently in talks to star in the movie adaptation of the novel, Dreary and Naughty.

Image and personal life
Hudgens confirmed, in an October 2007 interview with Teen Magazine, that she was dating her High School Musical series co-star Zac Efron and had been since the filming of High School Musical. In an interview, Hudgens's publicist stated that her music video for "Say OK" was their official "come-out" as a couple. At 2008, she was ranked as FHM's 62nd Sexiest Woman[37] and Maxim's number 12 in their 100 Hot List. She was included in People magazine's annual "100 Most Beautiful People" list in May 2008. She was also voted Bop Magazine's 7th Hottest Star as Hot Breakout Star'. As of 2008, she had been a covergirl for Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl and Lucky Magazine. She had also took photoshoots with on-and-off-screen boyfriend, Zac Efron and High School Musical co-star Ashley Tisdale for Elle Magazine, Glamour Magazine for the May issue and InStyle for October.

On September 6, 2007, controversy erupted after provocative photos of Hudgens surfaced online. Two showed her posing in suggestive lingerie, and another showed her nude. A statement from her publicist claims that the photo was taken privately and it was "unfortunate" that they were released on the Internet. Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having "taken [those] photos." After the scandal blew over, Hudgens was quoted as saying, "I'm much better now. But truthfully I don't like talking about it. It was something that was meant to be private, and even though it isn't anymore, I'd still like to keep it as private as I can. It was very traumatic, and I am extremely upset it happened. I hope all my fans can learn from my mistake and make smart decisions. But I wouldn't have been able to get through it if it wasn't for my family, friends, and fans, who supported me all along the way".

Early speculation that Vanessa Hudgens would be dropped from High School Musical 3 due to her nude photo scandal proved untrue. Although it was reported by OK! Magazine that Vanessa would be replaced by Adrienne Bailon or Sabrina Bryan from the Cheetah Girls in High School Musical 3, Access Hollywood confirmed that the cast was still in negotiations and Vanessa would not be cut from High School Musical 3. "Totally untrue. It is an old rumor," Vanessa's representative told Access, "OK! Magazine never bothered to check the fact with me, but they did call Disney who said it wasn't true, but yet OK! ran it anyway. Apparently, OK! Magazine was having a slow news day." She also claims that she did not regret on the leakage of the photos.